FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Jack Parkman]

Early line is as follows....

UMHB -3 with the Over/Under at 46.5

[jamtod]

I'd take the under on that all day long.

[JCUStreaks70]

Congrats Mount Fans on a well deserved Win on Saturday!

Good Luck on Friday! Bring the title back to the OAC!

[wm4]

I'd take the under on that all day long.

This is a tough one.  I don't see UHMB putting up more than 17, but how will Mount offense fair?  I'll take Mount and the under, 24-17, UMU.

[merlecanlas]

wasn't there some concern on here about Mount being big play only and not being able to sustain drives?  Is 32 first downs a typo?  and only one via penalty?  Yikes

[wm4]

wasn't there some concern on here about Mount being big play only and not being able to sustain drives?  Is 32 first downs a typo?  and only one via penalty?  Yikes

I certainly don't recall that being a pre-game narrative at all.  And once UWO showed their defensive alignment, it became clear mid way through the first quarter UMU was going to own time of possession, and they did just that. 

[edward de vere]

wasn't there some concern on here about Mount being big play only and not being able to sustain drives?  Is 32 first downs a typo?  and only one via penalty?  Yikes

I certainly don't recall that being a pre-game narrative at all. 

It was a HUGE pre-game narrative.

[edward de vere]

By "huge", I mean there were repeated comments from some of the most respected posters here.

People who actually know what they're talking about, unlike say, me.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

By "huge", I mean there were repeated comments from some of the most respected posters here.

People who actually know what they're talking about, unlike say, me.

To be fair, they really weren't forced to drive the field until maybe the JCU game and then UW-OSH.  For the most part, their athleticism turned them into a Big Play Team.  UW-OSH's lack of pass rush allowed Fulford to sit back there and find the open man.

[Pat Coleman]

UW-OSH's lack of pass rush allowed Fulford to sit back there and find the open man.

100% true. But he also bought time well when he needed to at well. UMHB's defensive philosophy is different than UWO's, but not overly different than Mount Union's.

[merlecanlas]

UW-OSH's lack of pass rush allowed Fulford to sit back there and find the open man.

100% true. But he also bought time well when he needed to at well. UMHB's defensive philosophy is different than UWO's, but not overly different than Mount Union's.

UMHB's defensive philosophy isn't to allow the opponent to go up and down the field with hardly any resistance?  Weird

[wm4]

By "huge", I mean there were repeated comments from some of the most respected posters here.

People who actually know what they're talking about, unlike say, me.

I'll give credit to Merle for having nailed it.  I hadn't seen UWO live at all, but watching them Saturday, they sure did play a lot of "weird defenses", as Merle said early last week.  Very little pressure, dropping 8 into coverage.  Even on 1st downs, UWO didn't show much of an aggressive front.  That's fine, except when it's time to make a stop, you need to make a stop.  Mount moved between the 20's quite easily, and then when in the red zone they were able to pound and just finish off drives rather impressively.  Yardage totals piled up, first downs piled up and time of possession piled up.  Oh, and the points did too. 

Statistically, UWO was not a highly regarded defense.  Even over on the WIAC boards, they're view was that UWO's defense would step up "when it needed to".  Saturday was the time to do that, but it didn't happen.  UMU never panicked, never got out of their game plan, and methodically closed the game and won.  Tip of the cap to them for a great game.

[HScoach]

wasn't there some concern on here about Mount being big play only and not being able to sustain drives?  Is 32 first downs a typo?  and only one via penalty?  Yikes

I certainly don't recall that being a pre-game narrative at all.  And once UWO showed their defensive alignment, it became clear mid way through the first quarter UMU was going to own time of possession, and they did just that.

Yes, it was a big pregame concern ad Mount hadn't been able to do it all season.  Thru 13 weeks it had been big play or bust.  Very glad to see them finally possess the ball.

[raiderpa]

A nod must go to the UMHB defense, although listening to Pat's podcast, it sounded like Brockport left some points out there.  I saw the first pick by UMHB and it was as ridiculous as UWO's pick six.  It looked like the receiver changed up on the QB and they got burned.  Fulford's pick six was just a brain freeze that we hope wont happen Friday night.

One thing that come to my mind is that I find it hard to believe that UMHB's QB is as good as Kaspar and would like to believe that he will make some errors that Mount will take advantage of.  That being said, pass pressure will be of major importance to both teams.  The kicker may be that both QB"S are really good athletes, so containment is a factor.

Mount did seem very vulnerable on crossing patterns as receivers outran defenders most of the day.  Crenshaw seemed to be behind all game on the crossing patterns and was left in the dust on the wheel route out of the backfield. Even when there, the DB's were not making plays when the score was being run up to 35-10. A very bad day for giving up big plays.

I am sorry say that I feel  UMHB will return kicks for beaucoup yards, possibly even TD or two as Mount special teams open gaping holes then miss tackles. I would punt OB every time and pooch kickoffs high and short. This part of the game could easily be the straw that breaks....

I would like to know if the Mount kids thought that maybe they weren't ready to play in the early going, especially defensively. 

Finally, how do you get a lineman downfield on a conversion attempt?  I thought the standard was like 5 to 7 yards. Didn't matter as the ball whistled through JEM's hands.

[Sherburne]

Another question before we start to ponder who will win Friday. Does anybody know where Mount's 25 point comeback ranks in playoff history? I'm not sure where to even start. I know we have a few very knowledgable people who will either know or can find out. Just curious. Something to talk about that shouldn't start any arguments.

As long as I'm here, Go Raiders!

It might be tops.  Wittenberg trailed Heidelberg 28-6 in the first half before rallying to win (and really pull away) in 2012.  UMHB lost a 21-0 lead to Linfield (that was the last time they lost a game).  That was also a first half lead.  Wabash trailed 28-7 in the third quarter against North Central and rallied to win 29-28 in 2011.  As incredible as that comeback was, I'm not sure it beats winning on the road in the semis after trailing 35-10 in the third quarter.  I think Saturday's win is pretty epic even by Mount Union standards.

Wally,
Were you at the Wabash game? I did make a two point conversion?
Must have been a rousing time.
Sherb